i2 tops earnings estimates 04-23-98

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Shares in supply chain management software maker i2 (ITWO)
itwo
may get a boost Friday after the company reported better-than-expected first quarter results. The Irving, Texas-based company said it earned 10 cents per share, 1 cent ahead of Wall Street projections. Revenue rose 85 percent to $66.4 about $2 million more than analysts estimated. Supply chain management software -- which allows users to control aspects of production, such as ordering, assembly lines and shipping -- is expected to expand more than 40 percent for the next few years. The company also set a two-for-one stock split, with May 28 as the date of record and June 2 as the pay date. The stock fell 3 15/16 to 72 3/8.

Forte Software (FRTE)
frte
reported a narrower-than-expected loss after the market closed. The Oakland-based maker of client-server software said it lost 14 cents per share, compared to analysts' projections of a 22-cent-per-share loss. Sales increased 11 percent $21.8 million. Shares slipped 5/16 to 7 9/16 ahead of the release.

Infoseek (SEEK)
SEEK, +0.00%
shares may get a boost Friday after the Internet search engine said it lost just half as much money as analysts expected. Infoseek reported a loss of 5 cents a share for its first quarter, narrower than analysts' estimates of a loss of 10 cents per share. Revenue rose to $14.3 million in first quarter, up 131 percent from a year ago. Infoseek closed down 4 3/16, or 12 percent, at 28 7/16 ahead of the release.

Sybase (SYBS)
SYBS, -3.15%
shares dropped 20 percent Thursday after the ailing database software maker reported a loss that was three times larger than analysts expected. The Emeryville, Calif.-based company said lost 37 cents per share, on a diluted basis, compared to Wall Street's projections of a 12-cent-per-share loss. Overall revenue slid 12 percent, hurt by a 31-percent decline in core software sales. The results do not include a $51.6 million restructuring charge associated with the job cuts as well as plant closures that the company announced earlier in the quarter. The company plans to take $20 million in further charges during the year. Shares fell 2 1/16 to 8 5/16.

Microsoft (MSFT)
MSFT, -0.35%
shares dipped 4.4 percent as concerns about slowing future growth overshadowed better-than-expected earnings. "Microsoft is undergoing a slowing phase in its product cycles and should show only 15 to 20 percent revenue and (earnings per share) growth for the next 3 to 4 quarters," noted Goldman, Sachs analyst Rick Sherlund. That rate compares to an average of 30 percent annual expansion over the past five years. The warning, which resembles one Microsoft has been giving Wall Street for several quarters, over-shadowed better-than-expected earnings, which had been raised last month. The software giant said it earned 50 cents per share in its fiscal third quarter, compared to projections of 48 cents. Sales increased to $3.8 billion from $3.2 billion, led by continued strong sales of Office 97. For the fiscal fourth quarter, Microsoft said it expects sales to be flat with fiscal third quarter results, with earnings fallings "a few pennies" below fiscal third quarter. Shares slipped 4 3/8 to 94 1/2.

Computer Associates (CA)
CA, +0.40%
shares dipped slightly even though the company said it expects to report higher-than-expected results. Citing strong client-server software sales, the company projected earnings of 75 cents per share, 4 cents better than the consensus estimate among analysts. Sales are expected to hit $1.46 billion, compared to $1.21 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter last year. The results do not include a $38 million one-time charge associated with its aborted bid for technology services powerhouse, Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC)
CSC, -1.42%
. Shares slipped 1 3/8 to 59.

Check Point Software (CHKPF)
chkpf
stock dropped 19 percent amid concerns that the company charged less and took longer to collect payments for its products in its first quarter. Earnings came in at 41 cents per share, compared to analysts' projections of 31 cents per share. But Goldman, Sachs analyst Michael Parekh pointed out 9 cents of the upside surprise came from a wider-than-projected operating margin. Revenue of $30.9 million only slightly exceeded Parekh's estimate of $30.1 million. The company played down the release, as well as a reported competitive threat from Microsoft. The stock slipped 7 3/4 to 33 1/4.

Edify (EDFY)
edfy
shares edged down 3/8 to 12 5/16 after the company released results in line with its profit warning earlier this month. The company, which makes software to automate sales, lost 9 cents per share on revenue of $13.8 million. That compares to earnings of 3 cents per share on sales of $12.3 million in the first quarter last year.

Shares in Rational (RATL)
ratl
added 2 3/16 to 15 15/16 after Hambrecht & Quist upped its rating to "strong buy" from "buy". First Albany and Cowen also raised their rating on the software tools maker to "buy" from "neutral". The upgrades follows the company's release of fiscal fourth quarter earnings of 12 cents per share, which matched analysts' expectations. The company's board cleared a plan to buy back up to 6 million shares.

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